Murdoch’s Fox abandons Time Warner takeover bid

LONDON – Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox decided to pull its $80 billion offer to buy Time Warner Inc. on Tuesday, abandoning plans to create one of the world’s largest media conglomerates.

The surprise announcement appeared to cut short what many investors had viewed as an inevitable battle of attrition over a deal that would have joined two of Hollywood’s biggest studios and TV networks from TNT to Fox News.

Murdoch, who is Fox’s chairman and CEO, cited Time Warner’s management and its board’s refusal to come to the table to discuss a takeover as one reason for the stunning turnabout.

“Our proposal had significant strategic merit and compelling financial rationale and our approach had always been friendly. However, Time Warner management and its board refused to engage with us to explore an offer which was highly compelling,” he said in a statement released after the market closed Tuesday.

Murdoch also cited Fox’s share price — down about 11 percent since the offer was unveiled on July 16 — saying it had become undervalued, making the deal “unattractive to Fox shareholders.”

Time Warner, which had fiercely resisted Murdoch’s advance, issued a statement saying it was committed to enhancing long-term value. “We look forward to continuing to deliver substantial and sustainable returns for all stockholders,” the statement said.

Shares of Fox rose 10.4 percent in after-market trade after closing at $31.30. Shares of Time Warner fell 10.7 percent after closing at $85.19.

A source familiar with the matter said that there were no other likely bidders for Time Warner at this point.

Still, Time Warner shares are trading at a premium to the offer suggesting that some investors believe another buyer could emerge or Fox may return.

Fox, which split off from News Corp. last year, is serious about walking away from Time Warner, additional people familiar with the matter said, citing its announcement of a $6 billion stock buyback at the same time. The people were not authorized to speak to the media about the deal.

Still, Fox’s withdrawal will raise pressure on Time Warner to justify its refusal to engage in negotiations, the drop in its stock price after the announcement and the fact that bolstered takeover defenses by barring its shareholders from calling a special meeting, said Brett Harriss, an analyst with Gabelli & Co. who said Fox could still try again later.

“This could easily be part of their negotiating strategy,” he said.

Both Fox and Time Warner are set to report their quarterly earnings Wednesday and will face questions from investors and analysts about their future strategies.

The combined companies would have created a media powerhouse with two major studios, cable networks, sports programming and pay-TV channel HBO. A tie-up would have added more muscle to negotiate against media distribution companies that have been going through their own mergers like Comcast’s deal to buy Time Warner Cable and AT&T’s proposal to takeover DirecTV.

The move to walk away is an uncharacteristic one for Murdoch, the 83-year-old media mogul known for his deal-making prowess.

He pounced on Dow Jones in 2007, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, after making an offer to the Bancroft family that was too good to refuse.

At $5 billion, representing roughly a 67 percent premium, many thought that Murdoch overpaid. News Corp. had to write down half the value a few years later.

Jason Subotky, partner and portfolio manager at Yacktman Asset Management, a large Fox shareholder said, “They showed a willingness to be bold with the proposal and yet were very disciplined. We think this is recognition that buying their own shares back is the most attractive use of capital at this point.”

“This significant return of capital underscores the company’s ongoing commitment to disciplined capital allocation and returning value to shareholders in a meaningful way,” Murdoch said in a statement, referring to the buyback plan.